7. When Something Looks Wrong
| Symptom | First check |
|---|---|
| The view is empty or incomplete. | Enabled layers, active filters, section thickness, and pending downloads. |
| Colours do not match the source. | Display mode, Surface / RGB crossfade, lighting, and the legend. |
| The camera seems stuck in a drawing action. | Finish or switch off the active editing tool. |
| Navigation is slow. | Interaction quality/detail, enabled cloud count, and streaming progress. |
| A mode or action is disabled. | Required data attributes, selected layers, and platform support. |
| Measurements between clouds make no sense. | Coordinate compatibility, units, scan registration, and the actual picked points. |
| Airborne M3C2 shows few or no values. | Both surveys are ground classified, both groups have been shown so their data is loaded, and the crosshair is over ground covered by both surveys. |
| Airborne M3C2 shows unexpected movement everywhere. | Check stable ground, survey alignment, vertical references, units, baseline/compare order, and the Change legend. |
| The 3D view is too dark, hazy, or washed out. | Choose Studio in Look, then check fog, headlamp, and exposure. |
| Export contains more than the section shows. | A section view does not crop the exported cloud. |
| The detail seems coarse after opening a share. | Give higher-resolution data time to upload or download, and allow rendering to settle. |
The simplest troubleshooting method is often to return to basics: Map, a visible unfiltered cloud, Surface display, and a known feature. Once that looks right, re-enable the tools or filters one at a time.
A Final Thought: You Don't Need to Use Every Tool
PurpleGeo is most useful when it shortens the distance between having spatial data and making a useful decision about a place. A survey may contain billions of points, but the question you need to answer may involve one wall, one slope, one span, or a few measurements in one room.
Start with the question. Find the geometry. Pick the perspective that makes it understandable. Then keep and communicate what matters.